When a person suffers a head or spinal injury, their head and neck may be immobilized to reduce the risk of further injury during transport and treatment. For example, neck braces, backboards, and crown-encircling stabilizers (also known in the art as “halo” devices) may be used conventionally to support a person's head and neck to reduce the risk of further injury.
People that experience traumatic injuries must endure a great deal of handling and movement by, for example, search and rescue and medical personnel during transport from an injury site to medical facilities with definitive treatment capabilities. This transport often involves both ground transport and flight on rotary and/or fixed-wing aircraft. Proper immobilization and shock load isolation may reduce the mortality and comorbidities associated with these casualties while in transit. Equipment currently used for people with a spinal cord injury (SCI) or traumatic brain injury (TBI) may provide some level of immobilization. However, such equipment may not be effective to isolate the patient from the dynamic multi-axial shock loading and vibrations present during transport. Treatment efficacy may be further diminished due to the current systems' inability to properly address polytrauma treatment issues, provide clear access to injury sites, manage bodily fluids, reduce the risk of pressure ulcerations, or be applied to an injured person in a variety of positions and orientations. With the increasing prevalence of SCI, TBI, and polytrauma patients due to the expanded use of improvised explosive devices (IED) on military forces, a renewed transport platform design may improve the specific transport, safety, care, and comfort needs of both the injured and caregivers.